City of Mages

Chapter 14: Alara

Just as in the smaller villages they had passed on the way to Attalea, the locals exited their homes as Alara and her caravan rolled in to the center of the main square. The town was by far the biggest they had passed, with numerous houses and farms scattered around the small shops that stood at its heart. Alara noted that many of the stone buildings were less worn here, the cracks between stones still clean and free of moss. There was a small fountain in the middle of the square that looked much older than any of the other buildings, the central feature long since broken away, water bubbling from the cracked stone pedestal in the middle.

Children laughed as they jumped around the legs of the l'lamagas, both shocked and ecstatic at the size of them. But the adults in the village looked more worn and tired than Alara had seen before. Had they been dealing with recent raids from the bruyas?

The councilguard soldiers dismounted and started handing out the last of the food they had taken with them to donate. The few mages sent out swirls of water dancing through the air around the children, who whooped and chased after the orbs and ribbons. Alara watched appreciatively, and a part of her ached to use her magia in such a way to make the children smile so genuinely.

As Alara watched, she caught the eye of an older man who was standing on the edge of the group. His face was worn and creased deeply with wrinkles, skin a dark brown from the sun and hair a pale white. He looked at Alara with sharp dark eyes—the irises almost black. She shifted on her l'lamaga and tried to look away from him, but something in his gaze made her pause. He stepped forward and for a second, Alara wondered if he would come speak with her, but by then, Emaru was already off her mount and had stepped between them, whispering in his ear. The two of them walked off away from the crowd of people that watched the mages perform.

Briefly forgotten, Alara dismounted and wandered into the shade of the tallest building in the square. It was a small worship hall set along the northern edge and one of the few buildings in a sad state, with moss growing where the edges of large stones met. She pulled back the wool blanket that covered the door and glanced into the small room. The benches were set up to hold likely no more than forty people and were slanted toward an altar that stood at the front. It smelled of damp soil and stone inside, and the floors were muddy and worn. It was nothing like the worship hall in the Haven with its crystal and bronze decorations and perfectly swept floors. It looked more like an abandoned building than a center for worship, and she had to wonder what El'dyo would think of it.

She heard Emaru call her name and quickly stepped back into the square, temporarily blinded by the bright sun upon exiting the dark building.

"There is no Khuno here." Emaru's voice was sharp with frustration. "And they haven't heard anything from a Quenti or seen a girl wandering around alone."

All eyes fell on Alara now and she felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her mind blank and buzzing. "I..."

"It looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," Emaru said, her lips somehow pursed in disappointment as she spoke. "We'll just have to sweep the forest, with the assumption she'll have followed the road or the river. If she was even headed this direction. Alara?"

Her heart beat in chest and she felt the heat in the air pressing down on her, the effect making her lightheaded.

"I...I need some space." She took a deep breath and looked back at Emaru whose face was still pinched in frustration. "If I separate myself from everyone, perhaps I can concentrate better."

Emaru seemed satisfied. With a few sharp directions to the councilguards, they mounted their l'lamagas and rode back toward the northeast end of the village where they had entered from. As Ardo hopped on his own mount, he turned briefly and gave Alara a tight smile before following the rest of the guards.